Re: 16 aNaala telugu vaaLLu.
D. Sreenivasa Rao (dsr@VNET.IBM.COM)
Wed, 23 Jul 97 09:41:22 -0400
Interesting explanation. I always thought 1 rupee = 16 aNaas (approx)
and hence the usage to indicate completeness....
:>A rupee before the metric system was introduced was counted as
:> rs 1/- = 16 aNaas.
:> 1 aNa = 12 paisaas.
:>
Is there another level of hierarchy here? If not, where does a kANI
(or kAnI) fit in? Remember the anushTup parody by AdibhaTla Lakshmi
NaaraayaNa Sastri that was posted on Telusa recently: "oka kAni okE
kAnI ...."?
I think since 4 kAnulu = 1 aNA, and 1 kAni = 3 paisalu. To rationalize
the whole thing, the govt. after independence introduced the metric
system and called the lowest denomination a 'nayaa' paisa (meaning new
paisa).
Evidently, there was another layer of currency denomination in the
olden days called 'Dabbu'. I don't exactly remember its relation
to an aNA, but it is more than a kAni. In fact, there is a telugu
saameta "EgAnI vedhavaki Dabbunnara kshavaram", used to deride a
person who is spending (or is forced to spend) way above his means.
--sreenivas-- dsr@vnet.ibm.com